Major businesses include text messaging in their marketing strategy. They recognize that most, if not all, of their consumers keep their mobile phones close. If there’s one tool that allows them to get as close to their market as possible—it’s SMS.

Start-ups, mom-and-pop shops and small enterprises will do well to follow suit. There’s another advantage to text message marketing: it’s quick and cost-effective.

It’s not at all hard to begin your SMS marketing campaign. Remember, marketing is all about getting a message across, no matter what marketing platform — text, email, social media or traditional media. There’s a difference, however: because an SMS has maximum of 160 characters per message length, the 4Cs of writing (clear, concrete, concise and complete) become more important than ever.

How do you make your bulk text messaging marketing work successfully? Consider some of these simple but practical tips:

1.     Create a clear call to action

You can send out messages that coax your subscribers to do something, such as joining a contest, signing up for a promo or loyalty program, availing of a coupon, visiting your social media page, or referring a friend to opt in the text subscriber list.

2.     Create an opportunity for interaction

Don’t just tell them what to do, make it an opportunity for them to talk back. Ask your subscribers for their feedback, maybe they have ideas on how to improve your service or what they want to see in your shop next.

Text message marketing need not be a one-way conversation, use it to interact!

3.     Create messages that are relevant and timely

You can interpret this tip in various ways.

Being relevant and timely can mean sending out messages that apply to your target consumer. Perhaps it’s Mother’s Day and you’re sending out special coupons exclusively to your subscribers who are mothers. You wouldn’t send those out to your male subscribers, would you?

It also means that your message shouldn’t contain inconsistent facts—such as offering a discount when you only meant to share trivia or useful information to your subscribers.

Being timely can also mean scheduling SMS bulk sending. Are you going to send them out daily, weekly or bi-monthly? Of course, the optimal frequency would depend on your subscribers. You want to send out text messages frequent enough that they will look forward to it each time, but not too frequent that they opt out of your list.

4.     Create messages that your subscribers can relate to

Make sure that you tailor fit your message to appeal to your subscribers so that they can take action.